Relatively rolling elements



Aug. 2, 1960 H. B. VAN DORN ETAL 2,947,531

RELATIVELY ROLLING ELEMENTS Filed Nov. 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,4 FIG. 4.

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FIG. 2. 6 H11IIHTIHTHHIWWHW M, 34' FIG. 3. j; llHmmnnmmmm I INVENTORS 110134015 B. m 001w awazo W. MORAN A TTORNEYS Aug. 2, 1960 H. B.\VAN DORN ETAL 2,947,581

RELATIVELY ROLLING ELEMENTS Filed Nov. 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR5 jYflRAfiE' E 10111 BORN RQIV'ALI? MK MORAN ATTORA/EXS nited States 1 Claim. (Cl. 308-216) Van Born and Ronald Wesson Moran, Conn., assignors to The Fafnir Bearing New Britain, C'onn., a corporation of Con- Our invention relates to an improved construction for relatively rolling elements, such as bearing rollers and raceways therefor, as well as cams, cam followers, and the like. This application is a continuation-in-part of our application Serial No. 262,989, filed December 22, 1951, now abandoned.

In bearing rollers of conventional construction, the roller is generally cylindrical or frusto-conical but at least makes essentially a line-contact with the raceway in which it is supported. Under load conditions, mechanical wear is found to occur at the finite ends of the roll. This effect, known as end effect, may be attributed to metal at the center of the contact area being supported by adjacent metal which is also in compression, while metal at the ends, or at what may be termed the terminal planes" of the rolling member, does not have the advantage of balanced hydrostatic support from adjacent metal. This unbalance causes elevated stress concentrations at the ex-- tremities of the rollers and in the corresponding race areas; this elevated end stress becomes the design working maximum, a factor limiting the potential capacity of the relatively rolling elements. The material in these end zones exhibits early fatigue, and either the end of the roller surface, or the part of the raceway traversed bythe end of the roller surface, flakes and erodes prematurely. These normal tendencies toward early breakdown of the materials of the roller or of the raceway may be accelerated by inadvertent initial misalignment of the roller in the raceway or from such angular misalignment or displacements as may result from heavily loaded axle defiections. Since the fatigue life of a bearing is approximately inversely proportional to the cube of the load, or inversely proportional to the ninth power of the stress, it it is clearly seen how sensitive the fatigue life is to endstress conditions. In roller-bearing assemblies, high endstress concentrations are accompanied by skewing forces which are the cause of unnecessary retainer wear.

It will be appreciated, for purposes of the present discussion, that the end of a roller is essentially that part of the roller at which it may be said to provide, or to be provided with, radial supporting material. Some rollers are constructed with rounded or heavily chamfered ends, so that the ends of these rollers may be the axially inner edge of the chamfer; thus, it will be understood throughout the present discussion that the term roller end" applies to the so-called terminal plane-that is, to the extreme radial plane in which the roller may be said to provide-or to be provided with direct radial support.

It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide an improved construction of the character indicated.

It is another object to provide an improved cam or hearing roller construction which may substantially prolong the life of the roller and of the cams or races over which it runs, as well as of retainers for bearing rollers so constructed.

Another object is to provide an improved race-construction permitting prolonged life of a conventional roller 7 employed with such race, while, at the same time, permitting prolonged life of the race itself.

It is a specific object to provide an antifriction-bearing construction in which the axial distribution of stress may be substantially uniform, even at the terminal planes of the roller; A further object is to provide a roller construction in which end stress is not a substantial factor limiting the capacity; stated in other words, it. is an object to gain added effective roller length (and its resultant increase in load capacity) for any given set of space limitations.

Also, it is an object to provide a roll construction which may carry a given load for a substantially longer period of time, or which may carry a substantially greater load for a given period of time.

Another specific object is to provide an antifrict-ionbearing construction in which sharp transitions in the axial distribution of stress may be substantially reduced.

A further specific object is to provide an improved cam and cam-follower construction. It is also a specific object to provide an improved roller construction meeting the above objects without requiring great changes in conventional roll-finishing processes, and without requiring special additional processes of high accuracy.

Other objects and various further features of the invention will be pointed out, or will occur to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In said drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes only, preferred forms of the invention:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged elevation in partial section illustrating a bearing roll of the invention, seated on spaced raceways;

Figs. 2 and 3 are load diagrams, respectively illustrating radial-stress distribution for the roll of Fig. 1 and for a roll of conventional configuration;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a double-row spherical-roller bearing incorporating features of the invention;

Fig. 4A is a similar fragmentary sectional view of a tapered-roller construction;

Figs. 5, 7 and 9 are elevations in partial section of modified roll constructions of the invention;

Figs. 6, 8, and 10 are end views of the constructions of Figs. 5, 7, and 9, respectively;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view of a bearing including raceways incorporating features of the invention;

Fig. 12 is another fragmentary sectional view of a bearing, illustrating a modified race construction;

' Fig. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of another race-ring construction; and

Figs. 14 and 15 are fragmentary sectional views of alternative cam-follower-roll constructions.

Briefly stated, our invention contemplates principal ap plication to antifriction-bearing rolls or to the raceways for such hearings, and to cam and follower constructions. In such cases, contact of the roll with the race or cam is essentially a line-contact, and this contact may be said to exist between terminal planes, the axial distance between these terminal planes may be determined by the axial length of the raceway or of the cam, or by the efiective length of the roll.

yOur invention consists of so excavating either the ends of the roll or the ends of the race-ring or cam that a certain substantial end part of either the roll or the race (or cam) is rendered variably flexible, within the elastic limit of the material, so that severe stress concentrations and extreme stress levels cannot exist at the terminal planes; in the case of rollers, we find it preferable that the relief at the terminal plane shall involve a circular intercept, with a minimum diameter that is substantially sixty percent of the roll diameter at the terminal plane. In the case of recessed race-rings, we prefer that the axial depth of the recess, inwardly of the .tcIminal plane, shall exceed .orheat least substantially, equal to the average radial thickness .of .the cantilevered por- .tion of the race. .Anumberofapplications .of this principle will be .shownand described.

In Fig. 1, we show a cylindrical roll 11, rolling on cylindrical raceways 124.3. The .outer surface 14 .of the roll 11 may be formed structurally-in a conventional manner, as in a centerlessigrinding operation. As .explained above, our invention consists in so excavating the race or the roll that end sections are rendered variably flexible; in the simplified case of Fig.1, the ends of the roll are excavated.

In Fig. 1, the outer surface14 of the roll-11 mates with the raceway131for .thefull axial extent of the roll, so that terminal planes may be said to exist at the rollend faces 1516. It will ,be'understood that, if the outer surfacej14 Were chamfered or rounded at its ends, then the terminaliplanes would exist at the sections where roll and raceway cease to contact. As indicated, the roll 11 is rendered variably flexible at both ends by substantial excavations 3l718, and we prefer that the outersurfaces 19 f such recesses be tapered or flared towards the terminal'plane, so as to provide cantilevered, variably flexible support for the roll surface14, reducing as the end section is approached. For stress relief, 'itmatters notwhetherthe recesses 17-18 extend to the center of the rol1-or whether central projections, as shown at 20, are formed in-the bottom of the recesses-and are projected axially outwardly of the terminal planes for locating-purposes;however,as shown in the drawing, the relief at the terminal plane (represented by the circular intersection of taper 19- with the terminal-plane) occurs at adiameter exceeding the above-stated minimum of sixty percent of the roll diameter.

'The axialdepth :of recess 17 (or 18) is, as indicated, preferablysufiicient, in relation to the average thickness of the annular roll end, to permit radiallyinward resilient yielding'for stress relief. This desirable feature may-be stated in structural terms as requiring that the average thickness of the annular roll-end portion shall beless'thantherecess depth at the location for which the "annular thickness equals such-average thickness; alterna- =tively, the ax'ialdepthof-an endrecess 17 (or 18) is preferably at least asgreat as the average annularroll thickness at the recessed ends.

The stress relief achieved when using the roll-of- Fig. 1, under a-norrnal rolling load, is :demonstrated by a comparison of the stress diagrams of Figs. 2 and '3. Both diagrams depict load distribution for rolls of' the same outer dimensions and subjected to the sameiload. Fig. 3 represents the case of a conventional roll in which-no provision is made for stress-relief at the ends, that is, in which the roll surface is contoured to mate -With--the race for the full axial extent of the span between terminal planes, and in which the roll ends are solid and are not excavated. It 'will be seen that, due to the lack of radial-flexibility at the ends, that is, at the terminal planes,-these stress concentrations either limit'the capacity or become the source of early fatigue and failure of conventionalrolls and r-aceways. On the other hand, a roll excavated as described in Fig. 1 may, while sustaining the same load as that depicted in Fig. 3, exhibit substantially uniform stress distribution along the line of contact between the roll and the race, as shown in Fig. 2. Of course,'if the load is to be uniformly sustained for the full span between terminal planes, in the manner shown'in Fig. 2, then the extent of the'excavations 1718, that is, the mannerin which the race-supporting section is reduced upon approach to the terminal planes, will vary, dependingupon .the .sizeof the roll, the size of the race, and .the load. Generally speaking, however, the excavation will be substantial, and axially inwardly of the terminal planes.

In Fig. 4, we show an application of principles of the invention to a twin-row spherical-roller bearing, comprising inner ring 25, an outer ring 26, and rollers 2728, in each of two separate sets ofrraceways. The inner raceways, as at 29, are generally concave to mate with the convex rolling surface-of roll23, but end'recesses END--31 terminate .the'raceways short of the full axial-extent. of the ro1lI2 thegreliefat the. terminal planes. is .again obscrved to involve ;a circularintercept of diameter exceeding'the preferred minimum of sixty percent of the roll.:.diameter at the terminalplane. Theouter race 32is spherical and common to-rolls Q7'2'8--of"both-' rows. "Under these circumstances, it willrbec-seen that.terminal planes for the rollers, such as the roller 27, may be axially inwardly of the endsof the rollers, as indicated by the phantom lines .33 of-Fig. 4. Underthe circumstances, we prefer and have shownendexcavations 34, at the ends of the rollers axially inwardly of these planes 33, in order that there may be the reductionin. stress concentrations discussed above in connection with Figs. l to 3.

'Fig. 4A illustrates application of the'invention to a tapered roller 27 between race rings 25'26'. It will be noted that end excavations at 34' extend substantially inwardly of the terminal planes 33 and that the relief intercept .meets. the preferred limitation discussed above for other forms.

..In. Figs. 5 and 6, we have shown another roll construction exhibiting the desired characteristics and inherently simple to construct. .Theroll in. Fig. 51has a'central continuous bore 35 between the tapering endrecesses 36- .37. Theendsof the roll at the outer corners are .chamfered, .and .therecesses .36-.37 extend. inwardly of the inner limits .of the chamfers, and therefore axially .inwardly of the terminal planes ,of the roll.

In Figs. 7 and 8, a flexible roll is built in two pieces .from aTelatively .thin sleeve .38, of section thin enough to flex under a normal rolling load, and a tight-fitting plug '39 ispositionedin the bore ofthe sleeve 33 axially centrally of the sleeves .38. Since the plug 39 is of lesser axialextent than the sleeve 38, the desired end recesses are defined, as at. 40, betweenthe end of the plug 5% and theend off .the sleeve 38.

"Figs. '9 and 10 illustrate .a construction. gcnerally'siim filar to that of 'Figs."7 and 8,. except that' the plug 3% has a central'borelin which a pin 41 is force-fittedp The pin 41 may be of greater axial extent than the sleeve 33,. so

'r'eliefis achieved through excavation .at the ends of racerings, rather than through excavation at theends of the roll. The bearing in Fig. 11 may comprise an inner ring 45 and an outer'ring 46, spaced by cylindrical rolls 47. Terminal planes 48 maybe defined by the inner limits of .roll charnfers 49, and excavations. 56* in the inner ring 45,'inwardly of the terminal planes 48, .may, in certain circumstances, provide all the necessarystressre'lief. l-

'ternatively; the outer race-ring alone may be similarly ex cavated as M51 and, at thesame time, provide all the necessary stress relief. However, "for extreme flexibility,

both rings-45--46-may be excavatedyasshown. It will beappreciated that with stress relief in the raceway and -with standard'(-unexcavated') rolls-47, as'shown in-Fig. 11, stress concentrations may not occur -"along the lines of :contact, and-there may be the'uniform distributionof stress depicted in Fig. 2. The axial depths of grooves 0I"6.XC8.V8,1iQI1S;5G--.-51 will .be seen,. in :each .case, .to be in excess of the average radial thickness cfxthatpartrof the race which receives cantilevered support, out to the adjacent terminal plane.

In Fig. 12, we show a modified construction in which the inner ring and the outer ring are each built up of sleeve layers. The outer ring is formed with an inner race-sleeve 52, an outer sleeve 53, and an intermediate sleeve 54; and the intermediate sleeve 54 is of lesser axial extent than the sleeve 52 in order to define the desired stress-relieving recess 55 at both ends. In a similar manner, stress-relieving recesses 56 may be formed at the ends of the inner ring, which is made up of a construction of three sleeves 57-58-59. The stress-relief functions of the construction of Fig. 12 may be analogous to those of the construction of Fig. 11.

It will be noted that the bearings of Figs. 11 and 12 may be cam-follower rolls. In such cases, the bore of the inner-ring member (45 or 59) may accommodate a supporting pin, and the outer-ring member (46-53) may ride the surface of a cam, as schematically indicated by phantom outline 60 in Fig. 11. In these applications, our construction will be seen to prolong the life and to extend the capacity of the cam 60 as well as that of the follower roll.

In Fig. 13, we illustrate a modified race-ring construction, incorporating features of the invention in a manner which may be more simple to achieve under certain manufacturing circumstances. The bearing shown comprises cylindrical rolls 61 between spaced race-rings 62-63. The inner ring 62 is held at one end against a shoulder 64 or shaft 65 and is clamped in position by a nut 66 and washer 67 at the other end. The outer ring 63 is held between a shoulder 68 and spacer 69. As in the case of the other forms discussed above, we provide means rendering the race-rings variably flexible at locations inside the terminal planes 70. This is achieved by recesses 71- 72 open at the ends of the inner and outer rings 62-63, respectively. The recesses 71-72 happen to be of a contour that can be simply produced by a cross-slide or forming operation, but the clearances at 74-75 provide the recesses 71-72 with openings to the ends of the rings. It will be noted that, in the construction of Fig. 13, the recesses 71-72 may provide suflicient variable flexibility to avoid substantial end-stress conditions and that at the same time the flanges 76-77 defining the outer sides of recesses 71-72 provide very substantial radial shoulders for end abutment of the hearing at 64-67 and 68-69. As with Figs. 11 and 12, the axial depth of recesses 71- 72 (inwardly of terminal planes 70) is at least substantially equal to the average radial thickness of the cantilevered portions of the race members 62-63, inwardly of the terminal planes.

In Figs. 14 and 15, we show alternative applications of the invention to cam-follower roll constructions, the roll 80 of Fig. 14 being solid, and the roll 81 being of the antifriction variety with an outer ring 82 to follow the cam 83. In both cases, end-stress concentrations are avoided along the line of contact with cam 83 by recessing the roller ends (at 84-85, respectively) axially inwardly of the terminal planes, thereby providing variable flexibility in the end sections of the follower rolls. Alternatively, variable flexibility may be achieved by recessing the ends of the cams, inwardly of the terminal planes, as suggested at 86 in the phantom outline 83 of Fig. 14, as will be understood.

It will be seen that we have disclosed improved antifriction-bearing and cam and follower constructions, permitting the more uniform axial distribution of load in a roller configuration. All forms of the invention avoid the extreme stress levels which under load can cause great damage in conventional constructions; in the case of excavated rollers, the end relief in all cases involves a circular intercept, with a diameter exceeding the abovestated minimum of sixty percent of the roll diameter at the terminal plane. By avoiding this principal source of wear, we have actually disclosed a means whereby bearing or cam life may be prolonged or whereby bearing-load or cam-load capacity may be increased in any given cam or bearing size or type. Of particular importance, our invention is adaptable to bearing or cam parts without requiring any change in the customary grinding and other finishing operations for like-size conventional components.

While we have described the invention in detail for the preferred forms shown, it will be understood that modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claim.

We claim:

In combination, two radially spaced annular race members formed with roller raceways on opposed adjacent surfaces, antifriction rollers between said raceways, said rollers and raceways being in continuous lines of contact, the end points of said lines of contact defining two spaced terminal planes, said terminal planes being substantially perpendicular to said lines of contact between said rollers and said raceways, saidl race members each having an annular recess extending from each end thereof into said race members a depth measured from said respective terminal planes at least equal to the average radial thickness of the cantilevered portion adjacent said rollers formed by said recesses in said race members, whereby the ends of said raceways yieldably support the ends of said rollers at said terminal planes.

References Cited! in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 887,831 Muth May 19, 1908 1,618,957 Hunter Feb. 22, 1927 2,031,818 Buckwalter Feb. 25, 1936 2,259,325 Robinson Oct. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 62,024 Denmark Feb. 28, 1944 

